


The Wolf in the Woods

by morrezela



Category: Supernatural RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe - Crack, Alternate Universe - Little Red Riding Hood, Alternate Universe - Werewolf, Crack, M/M, Mpreg
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-05-14
Updated: 2014-05-14
Packaged: 2018-01-24 16:52:00
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,826
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1612358
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/morrezela/pseuds/morrezela
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Jensen is a baker who keeps getting accosted by a wolf with a sweet tooth every time he tries to deliver food to his grandmother’s house.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Wolf in the Woods

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: This isn’t real. The people mentioned belong to themselves. I am receiving no remuneration from this.
> 
> Warnings: Werewolves, Red Riding Hood themes, hints of possible future MPreg, stoner!Misha, Vain!JDM
> 
> A/N: This was written for my first 2014 spn_cinema entry. My film was The 10th Kingdom, although it is more loosely inspired by the wolf in that because I wanted to do a Red Riding Hood fic.
> 
> Beta provided by kaelysta.
> 
> All mistakes you find are my own.

“Fucking woods. Fucking Hunters,” Jensen muttered to himself as he stalked through the woods. His long, red cape fluttered behind him as he went. The hooded part of it was tugged up as far over his head as he could get it. He didn’t want his accursed spots to be any worse than they already were. He’d get enough heckling come the Harvest Ball.

“Goddamned trigger happy hunters!” Jensen cursed as his cloak caught on some brambles, and its tie tugged at his throat. “If they didn’t shoot every damned thing that moved in the forest, I wouldn’t have to wear this stupid thing.”

Jensen set his basket down on the ground as he turned to pluck the soft wool away from the thorns that had grabbed his cloak. When he turned around to pick his basket up again, the handle of it was in the jaws of the largest wolf he’d ever seen.

“That isn’t yours,” Jensen scolded because of course that was the most important thing to say to the gigantic wolf that could kill him.

The wolf let out a low, piteous whine and wagged its tail. Its eyes went wide and round somehow conveying that he would just die if he didn’t take all of the goodies in Jensen’s basket.

“Those are for my grandmother!” Jensen continued even though the smart thing would be to allow the wolf to have the basket, thereby saving Jensen’s hide from wolf teeth imprints.

The wolf growled and shook its head.

“Or not,” Jensen conceded.

The wolf huffed and spun around quickly, dashing off into the woods.

“Fucking wolves,” Jensen muttered as he turned around to stomp back home. “Fucking relatives,” he added as an afterthought. After all, his cousins and siblings were all perfectly capable of bringing Grandma her goodie baskets. Or hey, novel idea, Grandma could finally give up on her cabin out in the middle of nowhere to come live in town.

By the time that he got back to his home, it was too late to make the trek out to his grandmother’s place before night fell. Once that happened, there was no way that his grandma would let him come back home. It would be ‘too dangerous’ for him out in the woods. Jensen wasn’t about to subject himself to an evening of listening to how he should be finding a nice girl and settling down. There was a reason that he had purchased the bakery and that was to get away from having that conversation with his parents.

Jensen set some bread to rise and baked a few dozen cookies before he went to bed. He also made a few of his specialty dog biscuits as well. If that wolf came back around, he might be able to placate it with a non-Jensen flavored snack.

He’d be damned if he’d tell the hunters about it. The last thing Jensen needed was a bunch of them following him around in the woods, shooting at every cracking twig and fluttering leaf.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“You’re joking,” Jensen said as the wolf spat the dog treat out of its mouth and pawed at its muzzle.

The wolf answered by poking its massive nose at Jensen’s new basket.

“No,” Jensen said, hefting the basket up in the air. “You already stole enough. Baskets don’t grow on trees you know.”

The wolf didn’t seem perturbed by Jensen’s actions. Rather it seemed delighted as it wagged its tail and shoved its nose at Jensen’s bellybutton, snuffling at it before dropping its head lower to sniff at Jensen’s crotch.

“Hey!” Jensen yelled, slapping at the offending head. The wolf responded by rubbing its head against Jensen’s hand in the universal canine language of ‘want pettings.’ “You’re rather tame, huh?” Jensen asked as he obligingly scratched at the wolf’s ears.

The wolf let out a groan and pushed its head harder against Jensen’s hand. Jensen patted it a few more times before stepping around the giant bulk and heading towards his grandmother’s place. A sharp bark was all the warning he received before he was sprawled out, face first on the dirt of the forest floor. His carefully wrapped package of cookies and tarts were barely on the ground for a few seconds before the wolf was bounding over to them, snatching them up in its large jaws before fucking bouncing away.

“Fucker!” Jensen called after it. “At least you left the goddamned basket this time.”

~~~~~~~~~~~

The third time that Jensen started to trek to his grandmother’s place, he brought a stick. He could’ve asked one of the hunters to accompany him, but quite frankly, he’d rather be accosted by the gigantic wolf. There was no end to the teasing ‘wit’ of his fellow villagers.

Jensen’s eyesight had kept him from even doing one turn of hunting. He had been relegated to town work from the beginning. As such, he had missed out on specific coming of age rituals for his manhood. He knew damn well that there were stories that were only told to the menfolk. The secrets of the forest were held in close confidence until a boy reached enough summers to become a man. At that point in time, if he was deemed hale and hearty, he would be shown the ways of the forest and enlightened about lore too sensitive for younglings.

When that man wed, he could share his knowledge with his wife, but no other. So basically Jensen was screwed over because of a screwed up system. His saving grace was the fact that not being a hunter meant that he wasn’t high up on the eligible bachelors list. His poor eyesight dropped him even lower. Most women didn’t want to risk their sons being assigned the same fate as Jensen.

That might’ve been insulting if not for the fact that Jensen sort of liked the male form a wee bit more than he should. He could have gotten married if he had wanted. He wasn’t homely, and the bakery did a fair bit of business. Money was a powerful motivator for matrimony.

But he pretended it was pride that kept him from wedding and bedding the remaining eligible girls in the village. It wasn’t so unbelievable. His eyesight wasn’t that bad. He just couldn’t see very far before everything got blurry. Up close was fine.

“Grrrrrrr,” the wolf’s voice startled Jensen out of his thoughts.

“Stay back,” Jensen warned, brandishing his stick.

The wolf snapped its jaws at the end of it and tugged it out of Jensen’s hand.

“Well, that worked great, Jensen,” Jensen muttered to himself.

The wolf huffed as if in agreement and darted back into the underbrush where it had been hiding. Seconds later it reappeared with Jensen’s first basket in its mouth, proudly depositing it at Jensen’s feet.

“Thank you for returning my basket,” Jensen said politely, eyeing the wolf suspiciously as he bent over to pick it up. “You’re oddly well trained,” he said as his gaze scanned the forest for other, more human movements but saw nothing.

The basket was heavy instead of light when Jensen tried picking it up. Doubly suspicious, he opened the lid only to find a mass of bloodied fur. He yelped and fell backwards in surprise, landing on his ass. The basket he had brought with him opened as he fell, and his freshly baked sweet loaf flew into the waiting, and apparently very talented, jaws of the wolf.

“That had better not be dead kittens!” Jensen warned, waving at the basket the wolf had brought, trying and completely failing to get himself back together.

The wolf tilted its head at him and trotted over to the basket again, dropping Jensen’s previously pristine sweet loaf on the ground, wolf drool helping the gravel and detritus of the path cling to the sugared crust of the bread. The wolf nudged the basket of dead animals forward with its nose, stopping only when it was close to Jensen. Then it sat and yipped at him, wagging its tail furiously.

“Okay. Okay. I can do this. Man it up, Jensen,” he coached himself. Grimly he pulled back the top of the basket again to get a better look at the carrion inside. On further inspection, he could tell that the bodies were rabbits.

“Ugh,” Jensen said, wrinkling his nose.

The wolf licked its chops and wagged its tail even harder.

“Look, I appreciate the gesture, but I usually take payment in other forms,” Jensen choked out.

The wolf looked forlornly back at the basket and shook its massive head. Turning back around it barked at Jensen and poked its nose at Jensen’s belly before licking its chops in what Jensen swore was a more exaggerated motion than the first time.

Jensen frowned. Maybe the wolf was hungry and thought Jensen was its personal cook. He didn’t think that wolves had problems with eating raw meat, but it was a strange canine and likely doing the bidding of some reclusive human.

“Look, I’m a baker, okay? I do stuff with flours and sugars and spices. Rabbits aren’t exactly part of my forte.”

The wolf whined and nudged Jensen’s stomach again making a low, growling type noise before grabbing the basket and dumping it in Jensen’s lap.

“Okay, okay. I get the hint,” Jensen surrendered, holding up his hands. The wolf sneezed on him before spinning around, grabbing the now ruined sweet loaf and disappearing into the woods.

Sighing to himself, Jensen clambered off the ground and picked up both baskets. Peeking inside the one he’d stocked with goodies, he found that the board he’d put inside the basket was still there, pinning the cookies and rolls in place. It wasn’t much, but he couldn’t avoid a delivery to his grandmother’s for another day. She’d just have to make do with what he gave her.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Grandma gave Jensen a lecture when he finally arrived, but she helped him skin the rabbits, so it wasn’t all a loss. She even complimented him on his skills training a hunting dog to go chase down rabbits, though Jensen wasn’t quite sure she bought that story. She kept looking at him funny and glancing out the window a lot.

Truth be told, Jensen wasn’t sure that he would’ve bought his story either, but the basket was full of rabbit carcasses, and he couldn’t just dispose of them on the way. The wolf was unusually well behaved, but other wild animals were not. Leaving a pile of dead flesh by the side of the path would be a magnet for various beasts and could endanger any who would walk the path. So he had to bring them inside with him.

Thankfully the rabbits were fresh and already gutted. That disturbed Jensen more than he wanted to admit. He’d suspected that there was a man out there controlling the wolf, but now he knew. There was no way that an animal knew to keep meat fresh and viable.

Still, he canned up jars of rabbit while he was stuck at his grandmother’s place. She, as he predicted, wouldn’t allow him to leave because it was getting too dark out. Cooking was preferable to talking, even though Grandma tried plenty of that.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Jensen crept out of his grandmother’s cottage at the slightest hint of sun rising on the horizon. He claimed that he needed to get back to the bakery, but he mostly didn’t want to be subjected to her poking and prodding. She had more questions about his ‘hunting dog’ than he wanted to answer. Grandma was in thick with the hunters, and Jensen didn’t need those trigger happy morons getting involved in his life.

Still, he was a dutiful grandson who brought back all her correspondence for her. He left her a couple jars of stew and took the rest back with him to his bakery. The glass of the jars was heavy, but Jensen was strong even if his eyesight was weak. The trees made discomforting creaking noises as he walked, but he paid them no heed. He was used to not seeing where he was going; a bit of dim lighting didn’t make that much of a difference.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Hey, Jensen,” Jeffrey Dean said as he swaggered up on Jensen’s left side. He was considered one of the best hunters in the village. That fact combined with his burly chest had more than one lady swooning after him wherever he went.

“Sorry, I’m already closed,” Jensen said as he finished locking the door to his shop. “Gotta bring Grams her goodies.”

“I know,” Jeffrey Dean said as he fell into step alongside Jensen. “That’s why I’m coming with you.”

“I don’t need a hunter to come with me,” Jensen informed him.

“I’m not a hunter; I’m a woodsman!” Jeffrey Dean boasted, pushing his chest out in pride.

“Great. Wonderful,” Jensen said with a roll of his eyes. “I definitely don’t need an elite hunter either. I’m not exactly going on a survival trip where I’ll need your woodcutting skills.”

“I think that you’ll change your mind,” Jeffrey Dean said with a flirtatious smile.

Jensen scowled at him and started walking faster.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

The wolf had a bouquet of wild flowers in its mouth. It was wagging its tail one moment, and the next lunging towards Jeffrey Dean with a vicious snarl. Petals and stems fluttered through the air as it moved. To Jensen’s surprise, it chomped down on the barrel of Jeffrey Dean’s rifle instead of the man. More shocking was the way the metal crumpled under the power of the wolf’s jaw.

“Jensen, run!” Jeffrey Dean shouted as he pulled out a wicked looking hatchet. The wolf snarled at him and placed its giant body between Jensen and the hunter.

“I don’t think it likes you,” Jensen observed.

“Of course it doesn’t. It’s a wolf. Now, run!”

“If you haven’t noticed, it isn’t exactly trying to hurt me,” Jensen pointed out.

“Are you stupid?” Jeffrey Dean demanded.

“Are you?” Jensen asked back.

“Your grandmother,” Jeffrey Dean began to say.

“My grandmother sent you a note, didn’t she? I knew I should’ve snooped through her letters before giving them to the town clerk. Look, I don’t need protection.”

“That wolf is a disease.”

Jensen tried not to roll his eyes, but he didn’t succeed. They just moved of their own accord. “Look, Jeff...”

“Jeffrey Dean,” the hunter corrected.

“Jeffrey Dean,” Jensen parroted back smarmily, “I was doing just fine with the local wildlife until you came along to shoot at it.”

“That thing is evil,” he warned. The wolf snarled at him in return. “That’s it,” Jeffrey Dean announced, swinging his hatchet down at the wolf.

“Hey!” Jensen shouted, throwing his hand out to try to grab at the hunter’s arm to slow the blow. The wolf lunged at the same time, its teeth sinking down into Jensen’s arm. Jeffrey Dean roared and shoved at Jensen, causing him to stumble backwards and hit his head against a tree trunk.

When Jensen woke up, his head hurt and his arm throbbed. Other than that, life was peachy, and he was just going to keep repeating that to himself until the nausea subsided.

“Oh, God,” he moaned as he rolled over onto his side.

“Stay still,” a warm, male voice coached. “That mean man hurt you.”

“Mean man, right,” Jensen mumbled, cracking his eyes open to get a very fine view of some spectacular muscles. “I’m hallucinating. Great,” he said as he shut his eyes again.

“Bad hunters,” the man commented. “Bad, bad hunters hurt pretty mates. Make them hit their heads and see things.”

Jensen opened one eye again. The naked man was still there. “I’m going to jump to the wild conclusion that you’re the owner of the wolf that has been stealing my baked goods.”

“Stealing?” the man sounded downright offended. “Jared doesn’t steal. Jared courts!”

“Courting. Guess that explains the flowers,” Jensen said as he sat up despite large hands gently trying to keep him lying down. The world spun around for a moment, and his stomach tried to pack up and move to a new village. But Jensen managed to not spew his lunch on the naked man.

“You are injured. Should rest until head does not ache.”

“And my arm doesn’t throb?” Jensen asked.

The man’s face crumpled. “Jared is sorry about that. He was only trying to defend, and you were in the way.”

“I’m sure he was. Where is the mutt anyway?”

The man tilted his head to the side quizzically. “Mutt? This word is not known. Your language is funny.”

“A foreigner,” Jensen mused out loud, “at least that makes sense.”

“This is home!” the man announced, arm gesturing expansively around him.

Jensen tried to follow the movement, but got dizzy the instant his eyes moved too quickly.

“Not much now,” the man said, sounding sad. “The hunters chase us away from our home. But Jared not give up like others. Jared come home again. Search for mate and ways to send hunters away from home.”

“Right,” Jensen grunted, not really tracking the conversation, “how’s that working for you?”

Two large hands wrapped around one of Jensen’s. “You tell Jared.”

Jensen blinked at him then blinked again. Puzzle pieces fell into place. “You’re Jared.”

The man beamed at him. “You like Jared?” he asked with what Jensen thought might be a bashful smile.

“You’re naked,” was all that Jensen could supply.

Jared huffed. “Fur is easier to keep clean and mended. Jared’s sewing not so good.”

“Hermits should know how to sew and cook,” Jensen informed him.

“Jared is a wolf,” Jared replied, head tilting in a disturbingly familiar fashion.

“Sure, you’re a wolf,” Jensen scoffed. Then his brain caught up with his words. “You’re a wolf!”

“Yes. Jared said…”

“You’re a wolf, and the hunters hunt you!”

“Hunters bad,” Jared said, face scowling. “Not good smelling and pretty like Jensen.”

“You’re just saying that because you like treats.”

“Yes, treats. Jensen makes nice things. Will be good mother for pups and rule whole den with iron ladle.”

“Whoa there,” Jensen said sitting up despite his remaining dizziness. “I’m not a girl.”

“Jared know this,” Jared told him.

“Right so, so…” Jensen swayed a little as he tried to catch his train of thought.

“Pretty mate should rest,” Jared all but ordered as he pushed Jensen back down onto the bed. “Jared protect from nasty hunters.”

“I can’t stay here,” Jensen protested. “I have a bakery to run.” It wasn’t his most logical argument ever, but he gave himself points for it anyway for thinking it up while concussed.

“Jared does not have flour,” Jared conceded after a moment. “Or tasty sweet stuff.”

“Sugar,” Jensen supplied.

“Yes. Jared likes sugar!” Jared heaved a sigh. “But Jensen’s bak-er-y is in human den. Wolves no invade human dens. Is bad.”

Jensen bit his lip. It felt a lot like taking advantage of the guy, but Jared had stolen enough goodies that Jensen didn’t feel too badly about what he was about to say. “It isn’t invading if you’re just helping me get home. I live there, remember?”

~~~~~~~~~~~

“You are a heavy mate,” Jared said as he strode through the forest, carrying Jensen bridal style. Jensen tried not to let it bother him that Jared was just starting to complain when they were already close to nearing town. The wolf didn’t even sound all that winded.

“Are you sure you don’t want my cloak?” Jensen asked for the fourth time, hoping against hope that Jared would finally catch the hint that he shouldn’t go strolling into town shirtless.

“And have my pretty mate catch cold?” Jared sounded scandalized just as he had the last three times Jensen had suggested it.

“At least you put pants and boots on,” Jensen grumbled.

“Of course! Jared’s man-bits are not for any but his mate and trusted pack to see.”

“You showed Jeffrey Dean,” Jensen pointed out.

“Wolf-bits not the same as man-bits. Man-bits are vulnerable, soft and unprotected.”

“I hope for your sake they’re not soft,” Jensen joked.

Jared tilted his head and frowned.

“Forget about it,” Jensen said, wincing as his accompanying headshake reminded him of his headache and subsequent nausea that came with quick movements.

“You see how you do at howling,” Jared grumped. “Bet you sound confused and silly and not get ‘jokes.’”

“Do you howl in this form too?” Jensen asked.

“No, Jared’s howl voice is… not pretty in this form. We speak words as humans do. But words are different.”

“Makes sense,” Jensen admitted, “different languages and all that.”

“You are a smart mate,” Jared said in response.

“Yeah, look, speaking of some communication issues…”

“JENSEN!” Jeffrey Dean’s voice echoed down the cobblestone streets the instant that Jared’s figure was noticed wandering down the back alleyways. Townsfolk started shouting to each other, and soon there was a throng of people coming down the street towards them.

Jared tensed and growled. It sounded far less threatening in his human form.

“Let me handle this,” Jensen instructed. To his surprise, Jared didn’t argue even if he was overly careful as he set Jensen on his feet.

“Jeff,” Jensen greeted the rather beat up looking hunter. There were scratches and abrasions all over him.

“Jeffrey Dean,” Jeffrey Dean corrected. A group of women in the back of the crowd cooed his name along with him. Being the most popular hunter in the village had its ups and downs when it came to the hunting groupies – or so Jensen had heard.

“Right. Look, Jared here,” Jensen began.

“This ruffian rescued you from the wolf?” Jeffrey Dean interrupted, eyeing Jared’s muscular chest with disdain.

Jared flexed his muscles, but kept silent. The crowd was less quiet, Jensen heard more than a few appreciative moans and jealous sighs.

“Funny thing that,” Jensen said. “Turns out Jared is the wolf. That strikes me as a bit worrisome given that he’s rather sentient.”

A collective gasp echoed throughout the assembled crowd. Some started muttering about Jensen having hit his head, others were speaking of killing Jared where he stood, but more than a few were whispering about how they knew that there was something fishy about all the wolf hunting.

“He’s not a man!” Jeffrey Dean exclaimed, pointing a finger at Jared’s naked chest.

Jared snarled and snapped his teeth at Jeffrey Dean in response.

“See how he reacts?” Jeffrey Dean said more to the crowd than to Jensen.

“I’d like to see how you would react if a group of men chased you from your home with guns and knives. Tell me, have you all told the townsfolk of the houses these ‘animals’ had built for themselves?” Jensen challenged.

“Lies!” shouted Misha Collins from the back of the crowd. “I’ve never seen homes in the woods!”

“Have you ever been near the wolf lands?” Jensen asked. “Let us be honest, Misha. You make your living by bringing mushrooms and herbs back from the forest. The last thing you shot was a squirrel so old and decrepit it was probably committing suicide.”

“None but the woodsmen go near the wolf lands,” Misha said nervously, “and that squirrel was not stringy with age. It was merely incorrectly cooked.”

“None but the woodsmen?” Jensen asked as he returned his gaze back to Jeffrey Dean.

“They are dangerous beasts who speak our words and eat you whole in your bed! Deceivers and liars with a taste for human flesh!” Jeffery Dean declared.

“Jared does have a taste for Jensen’s flesh,” Jared conceded with a whisper in Jensen’s ear.

“Not now, Jared,” Jensen hissed.

“He has brainwashed you,” Jeffery Dean accused.

“In the span of a day?” Jensen asked.

“They are possessed of dark magics,” Jeffery Dean warned ominously.

“I am not!” Jared protested.

“Are we to believe him? This wolf? A member of an evil society who plagued our forefathers?” Jeffery Dean asked the assembled villagers. “Do you want more of his kind to come here? Threaten our young?”

“Whoa, there,” Jensen said holding up his hands. “What young have been threatened?”

“The wolves eat humans!” a voice shouted out from the crowd.

Jared frowned. “Why would we do that? You taste horrible.”

“See?” Jeffery Dean crowed. “He has eaten human flesh!”

“Biting is not eating,” Jared countered. “You are slow. Maybe need more school?” he suggested with a tilt of his head.

Jeffery Dean sputtered and waved his arms around. “You seek to sway the townsfolk with your act of innocence when within your heart is a blackness most foul!”

Jared narrowed his eyes at Jeffery Dean. “More school,” he said with a firm nod of his head. He turned to Jensen, “Can we go to your bak-er-y now?”

“You can’t just take him farther into town!” Jeffery Dean protested.

“Perhaps he should,” Misha countered. “I mean, this Jared seems harmless enough.”

“Harmless? Harmless? He intends to fuck our poor baker and make Jensen his bitch!”

Jensen felt his face flush at the gasps around him, but an uncomfortable thought niggled at his brain. “I thought you said that the wolves ate humans?”

“I…I…”

“Why would you think he wished to bed me?” Jensen pushed.

“They are depraved creatures who…”

“They never ate a single one of the villagers, did they?” Jensen asked.

“That isn’t true! My father said that the wolves used to take many!” a voice called out.

“To mate,” Jared said softly in Jensen’s ear. “Our pack wanted to merge with the human pack. It was custom, but the humans would not allow mated pairs back in the village. They spoke of pollution and wrongness.”

“You see? The creature admits it!” Jeffery Dean crowed. “We should kill him now before he spreads his filth among us and others of his kind come to further his work!”

“I don’t know,” Misha said, squinting at Jared, “he’s kind of hot. The genetic diversity could do us some good.”

“What do you know, Misha? You smoke half the mushrooms you harvest!” Jeffery Dean roared.

“That is a lie!” Misha yelled back. “You’re just worried that you’re going to lose your sway over all of your fawning admirers!”

“I’m ruggedly handsome and have nothing to fear from this, this overly tall, interloping wolf!”

Jared sighed like he was bored. “Jared tired of fighting. Give some sugar now?” he asked Jensen.

Jensen shushed him and raised his voice, “I call for a town vote! All men and women should be present!”

“This is outrageous!” Jeffery Dean proclaimed. Echoes of his sentiment rang out from the other woodsmen.

“Then you have nothing to fear from a basic vote, now do you?” Jensen reasoned with a smile.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“There are many women in your pack,” Jared said as yet another customer left Jensen’s shop.

Jensen smiled and nodded not bothering to urge Jared to put on a shirt. He knew that Jeffery Dean would be out spreading propaganda to encourage fear based voting. He wasn’t above having Jared earn a few votes based on the wolf’s looks.

“If voting goes well, Jared’s pack come home. Many wolves,” Jared said almost pensively.

“Well, it isn’t like we need all that land,” Jensen said. “And the woodsmen have been jerks for a couple generations now. It isn’t like I was treated all that well by them either. They use our fear of the forest to keep us compliant.”

Jared nodded distractedly. “Jared has very nice pelt, pretty eyes and strong chest.”

Jensen laughed. “Does Jared also have a vanity problem?”

“Other wolves maybe more agile, but Jared fine choice. Bravest of all to come home,” Jared stated firmly. “Be good father to pups, very generous in loving to his mate.”

 

Jensen groaned. “Are we back to the mate thing already?”

Jared huffed and crossed his arms against his chest. His biceps bulged with the movement. “It is of great importance.”

“I get that,” Jensen said gently, “I just think that maybe you should be worried about other things right now.”

“Why? Jensen most important. Jared fight, if Jensen like. Show how strong he is to other wolves.”

“I seriously don’t need you to do that. You already fought off Jeffery Dean, remember?”

“Yes, but Jeffery is a stupid hunter. Like taking down lumbering elk.”

Jensen raised a disbelieving eyebrow.

Jared frowned and looked at the floor. “Elk with nasty gun?” he suggested hesitantly.

“I don’t think that elk have guns,” Jensen told him gently. “And I’m flattered that you’re so enamored with me. But don’t you think that maybe you’re just lonely?”

“No.”

Jensen waited a bit. Jared didn’t add anything to his statement. “Just ‘no’?” Jensen finally asked.

“Jared had many wolves to pick from. Wanted to come home instead. Jensen most perfect mate ever and will be Jared’s. Make each other happy and have many, pretty eyed pups. Though… maybe they should have Jensen’s howling voice. And maybe they should have Jared’s eyesight.”

“I don’t think it works that way,” Jensen pointed out. “And I’m still not a girl.”

“I know. You have no breasts,” Jared said.

“Right,” Jensen agreed, “I also don’t have, you know, lady parts.”

“Jared know this. You smell male.”

“You do know how, uh, puppies are made, right?”

Jared’s grin turned a bit naughty. “I do. Would you like Jared to show you?”

“Would you like Jensen to rap your snout with his rolling pin?” Jensen asked back.

“You are mean to your mate,” Jared accused merrily as he stole a tart from Jensen’s countertop.

“You’re going to eat me out of business!” Jensen scolded.

“I will go hunting for you,” Jared promised.

“For berries?” Jensen asked.

“I will go hunting for rabbits and deer. We will trade to stupid hunters for berries. Stupid hunters are loud and scare off good prey.”

“I would think you wouldn’t want to have anything to do with hunters,” Jensen said.

“Your hunters seem to be fine now that Jared has met them. Perhaps not well in head, but fine. Woodsmen are evil. They come and hurt. They are silent on their human paws and shoot from afar. When Jared was little, they came and chased us away. Jared’s father still limps from it.”

“I’m sorry,” Jensen offered.

“Why? Jensen was a pup himself then.”

“I suppose you’re right,” Jensen said, choosing not to argue over it.

“I am.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“I expected there to be a lot of debate beforehand,” Jensen whispered to Misha as they waited in line to cast their ballots. Off to one side of the hall, Jeffery Dean was glowering and flexing his muscles. On the other, Jared was also flexing his muscles but was smiling so widely that Jensen thought his face might just break.

Misha shrugged. “The female contingent seemed rather insistent on voting as soon as possible. I gather that they haven’t been happy at the lack of information being shared about what happens in the woods. I suspect that your dimpled friend is more of a political figurehead to their rebellion than he is the impetus of it.”

“So you’re saying that Jeffery Dean’s muscles aren’t going to sway the vote?”

“No, but your wolf has the same muscles and nicer hair.”

Jensen nodded. “But that is just the women’s vote.”

“True,” Misha agreed. “But a good portion of the men in town hate Jeffery Dean. There is only so often that you can watch your wife swoon over one of the woodsmen before it starts to wear on your ego.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The vote passed in favor of Jared by a slim margin of fifteen. It was immediately protested by the woodsmen. They demanded a recount of the votes, and when that failed to yield the results they wanted, they insisted on a second vote citing unfair voting practices.

Jared thought the whole thing was ridiculous. “A good alpha and alpha mate would straighten this whole mess out,” he declared with a roll of his eyes.

“We’re human, Jared,” Jensen pointed out again as he rolled out an extra batch of pie crust. Sales were up thanks to the Jared controversy. After Jensen had made it clear that people coming in his store to gawk at his wolf weren’t welcome unless they had a valid business reason, he’d been selling out of baked goods.

“You’re a wolf mate,” Jared argued.

“Yeah, about that…”

Jared’s growl interrupted him. “I don’t like it when you pretend we aren’t because of stupid human customs.”

“Okay, well, stupid human customs are all I know, being human and all,” Jensen shot back. “And I take exception to you calling me stupid. Granted, the whole hunting your family, pack, whatever thing was an exceptionally nasty thing to do. I do not support that at all. But you can’t just dismiss me like that.”

Jared whined, and the next thing Jensen knew, Jared’s arms were wrapped around his waist. “Sorry,” Jared mumbled into his hair. “Jared sorry. Forgive?”

Jensen sighed. “Yeah. Sure. Now go eat your muffins. I have pies to bake.”

Jared nuzzled the back of his neck before cheerfully bounding back to the basket of muffins that Jensen had specifically baked for him. “You are the best mate ever,” Jared declared cheerfully.

“I’m still thinking you’re a little biased there. Maybe you know about all the wolves, but you haven’t met all of the humans in town,” Jensen pointed out.

“I don’t need to,” Jared countered. “None of them braved the woods with food. None of them courted Jared, and none accepted Jared’s courting in return. None are as pretty.”

“I’m not pretty,” Jensen protested.

“You are,” Jared countered. “Just… lacking in eyesight. But that is okay. Pups will have good noses and strong ears to compensate if they take after you.”

“Look, Jared, I get that you want me to play house and raise puppies with you,” Jensen said, “but little orphaned wolves aren’t going to inherit anything from me.”

“You wish to adopt?” Jared asked softly. “Not that Jared wouldn’t love them, but he is a fine wolf. Would give you handsome, strong offspring.”

Jensen sighed. “Jared, I can’t have your puppies for you. I’m not a girl. I’m not sure how it works with wolves, but boy humans can’t have babies.”

Jared cocked his head to one side and then the other. His large forehead crinkled in confusion. “Rubbish,” he announced, looking rather pleased with himself. “Jared thinks that is the right word.”

“Look, I know my own body, and…”

“You don’t know,” Jared interrupted. “You haven’t seen how mates are.”

“What your magical wolf love is going to give me birthing hips?” Jensen quipped as he started pouring filling into his pie shells.

“Maybe,” Jared said as he began to stalk closer.

Jensen raised a single eyebrow at him.

“Probably,” Jared amended with a tiny grin which faded as a serious expression stole over his face. “Jared bit you.”

 

“I remember. It was an accident.”

“Yes, but magic travels through blood.”

“I’m not sure what to say about that.”

“Say you aren’t going to find a gun and shoot Jared?” Jared suggested.

Jensen narrowed his eyes at Jared. “This biting thing is going to turn me into a woman?”

“No!” Jared said as if that was the most preposterous thing he had ever heard. “Just… makes certain things happen. For breeding?”

“Is that a question or a statement?”

Jared hesitated. “Which one will get Jared hit less?”

“I’m not having your wolf spawn!” Jensen yelled.

Jared whimpered and looked impossibly sad. “Maybe you think about it?”

“No. Absolutely not.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Misha came banging on the shop door the next morning with the news that several of the town elders had been caught stuffing the ballot box with extra votes against the wolves. Armed with the information, the town cobbler, one Samantha Ferris took over as acting mayor. One of the woodsmen tried to force her to back off by pointing his gun at her. She retaliated by throwing one of her cobbling hammers at his head.

All in all, it was a peaceful transition. Jensen would be more shocked, but most of the men in the village spent their time out in the woods. They didn’t actually run the town, much as they might think otherwise.

He went upstairs to the rooms he kept above his bakery to rouse Jared and tell him the good news only to find that the wolf wasn’t there. There was no sign of struggle, but there also wasn’t a note. Of course there was no note. Jared could barely speak the language let alone write it.

Cold clenched in Jensen’s gut. He wasn’t stupid enough to pretend that Jared’s sudden disappearance was about anything other than their fight the previous day. Jared had left because Jensen had said ‘no’ which was noble and good. That was the sort of thing that Jensen could respect about a person.

Just… he hadn’t meant ‘no’ in the sense of absolute finality of considering Jared’s courtship overtures. He had just been utterly and completely overwhelmed. Baby wolves just were not something he even wanted to consider at that point.

But he and Jared had a language problem on top of a culture one. Rejection always stung even when done in a far more polite manner than what Jensen had exposed Jared to. Granted, Jensen figured that he had reacted far better than any other man in the village would have to the knowledge that thanks to a few misplaced teeth he could have…

Jensen wasn’t going to think about that right now. What he was going to do was grab his damned cloak, a basket and some baked goods. He was under no illusions that he wasn’t even noisier than Jared claimed that the hunters were, but he also had great faith in Jared’s stomach.

~~~~~~~~~~

It turned out that Jensen’s faith was misplaced. Despite having wandered around the woods for several hours, Jared still hadn’t appeared to Jensen. Finding Jared’s abandoned village wasn’t an easy task. Jensen had only been there once, and he had been unconscious for the trip there.

The thought did cross Jensen’s mind that Jared had already gone back to his wolf pack, but he doubted that. No matter what kind of wound licking Jared was doing, he had been earnest in his desire for his people to move back to their traditional homes. Jensen doubted that the wolf was going to give up on that dream even if his supposed ‘mate’ had rebuffed him.

Still, the day was getting late, and Jensen had no desire to wander the forest in the dark. He felt like an idiot standing there howling into the trees, but there was nothing for it. Dogs had good ears, and so did wolves. Persistent yodeling seemed to be a good way to grab Jared’s attention.

“I hope you do not mean that,” Jared said from behind Jensen.

Jensen yelped and spun around to give Jared a tongue lashing about sneaking up on people only to get an eyeful of all that was Jared.

“You’re naked!”

“Jared was in his fur,” Jared replied in an almost lofty way, like he was above it all. It was clearly a front given how red rimmed and puffy Jared’s eyes looked.

“I brought you cookies,” Jensen said, lifting the basket from off the ground where he had settled it.

“Jared doesn’t care,” Jared said in an all too obvious lie. Jensen watched as his nose twitched, catching the scent of sugary treats.

Jensen sighed. “Jared, I didn’t mean to make you go away.”

“You made your not-feelings for Jared very clear,” Jared huffed.

“No, no I made my feelings about having wolf puppies clear,” Jensen corrected him.

“Same thing,” Jared reasoned. “Mates have families.”

“Okay, you have a point,” Jensen conceded, “but we haven’t known each other long enough. I just found out that you weren’t just a wolf. You don’t go from that to, to telling a man you want him to bear your wolf babies for you. Courting takes longer in the human world.”

Jared’s façade crumpled a little, something looking a lot like hurt and hope shining through. “You might think Jared good mate?”

Jensen smiled at him. “It’s a possibility. You did bring me nice rabbits.”

Jared’s muscular chest puffed out in what Jensen assumed was pride. “I did.”

“Just so you know, there has been a bit of an insurrection back in my village. You’ll want to come back to talk to the new mayor, but… you’ll need pants.”

Jared huffed. “Jared told you he was on his paws. He was being silent, unlike a certain noisy human.”

“I was trying to attract your attention,” Jensen protested.

“By telling me how attractive you find squirrels?” Jared asked.

“I don’t speak the language!” Jensen said as he shoved his gift basket into Jared’s arms.

Jared grinned at him. “Jared can help you with that.”


End file.
